When I arrived, Buddy’s crew had just finished setting the stage for his soundcheck.  I had brought along one of our yet to be released GLXD guitar pedal wireless system to show to crew and hopefully have someone demo. Everyone who has tried this system so far has been very impressed with it’s sound and features.

After Buddy’s soundcheck, Jonny’s band showed up and began to set his stage.  After a 30-40 minute check, I went up on stage to say “Hi” to Jonny and show him the system.  As usual, he was impressed with the features and said “Let’s give it a try.”  After a 15-20 minute trial, he was definitely interested and wants to try it again once it’s available.  He mentioned that he hasn’t used wireless in quite a while and he would love not to be dealing with a trailing cable again.

Jonny took the stage first and immediately the room started heating up.  Jonny has been singing on the KSM9 for quite a while now and he’s got a KSM313 Ribbon on one amp and the KSM32 on another. He’s been performing for so long and it’s incredible to see how much emotion pours out of him in performance.  He’s such an approachable person and music just flows out of him.

Buddy Guy is legendary!  You are hooked right when he walks on stage.  He has been through so much and never seems to stop performing, even in between recordings, he’s still out there.  Buddy Guy has been a Shure Artist for well over 20 years.  He commands the stage through is KSM9HS yet can be as subtle as a kitten on guitar.  Your attention is quickly drawn in when he starts out a song with a guitar lick at almost at an imperceivable level.  Every show I’ve seen with both of these artists is a treat and I will always make it out to their shows when I can.

Who are some artists that you will not miss when they come to your town?

Ryan

Buddy's KSM9HS

Buddy Guy's amps - KSM313's

Jonny's KSM9

Jonny tries GLXD

Jonny Lang

Buddy Guy On Stage

This year, we had a host of great performances in the booth.  The Makepeace Brothers and Yellow Marbles are two great up and coming groups based in the LA area. They both performed 10-minute sets on Thursday.  Friday brought us 2 a cappella groups – a new group called Pentatonix who won the first competition on the TV show “ The Sing-Off” and the second was Shure Artists Take 6, who are now celebrating 25 years as a group.  Both of their performances brought an amazing amount of energy and a large audience into our booth space.  On Saturday, we welcomed famed producer Eddie Kramer for a discussion of how he used and continues to use Shure products to work his magic.  Last but not least, a great local LA artist named Britany Christian performed short demos for our newly introduced wireless line GLXD.  We are very thankful to all the groups who spent some of their time with us at NAMM.

Other artists that came by to visit included Sheila E., Sinbad, Christina Perri, Tony Royster Jr., and Actor/Musician Charles “Chip” Easton who plays Deacon Claybourne on the hit TV show “Nashville.”

Ryan Phillips and Adam Russell from the group Story of the Year also came by to interview yours truly as part of a documentary called “Who Killed (or Saved) the Music Industry?”

Since I have started Tweeting, I have been followed by a number of artists. One in particular, 10-year old Claire Stevens, came out to NAMM with her family.  She is a singer/pianist/guitarist who is writing her own songs and is determined to be a big artist someday.   She already has a 5 song EP that she recorded and her parents bought her a Super 55, which she has used at many performances including some at various House of Blues venues.  Keep an eye out for Claire because you can tell she loves to perform and now she has her eye on our wireless products.

OK, so here’s where the “+” comes in from the title.  After a successful NAMM show, I stayed in the area to catch The Who perform in Anaheim.  Definitely a BIG +!  The group Vintage Trouble has held the opening slot on their tour for the last few months and they know how to get people moving.  I’ve been fortunate to see The Who about 5 times now and it continues to amaze me how much energy they still have for performing.  Pete Townshend moves like someone half his age. Roger is still swinging around his vocal mic (now a Beta 58A) and had a big hand in the arranging of this presentation of Quadrophenia for this tour.  The encore consisted of several of their biggest hits.

The next day, I went up to the LA area to visit a few artists and management companies.  I got to catch Simon Phillips recording some new tunes with KSM27’s all over his toms as well as Kenny Aronoff playing at The Baked Potato with the Bombastic Meatbats, Chad Smith’s group.  What a great way to spend time in LA.  Loved every minute!